I am a Reader, Reviewer, Blogger, and all around fan. I plan to post my thoughts on various books, authors and whatever else strikes my fancy on this blog.

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Marine Under the Mistletoe (Always a Marine #19) by Heather Long

Blurb:

He used to believe in magic…

Kaiden Nelson looked like every other Marine, only most of
his guys didn’t grow up in a family of nudists, celebrating the wheel of the
year and the lunar cycles. His buddies wouldn’t name him a witch, either. But
after more than a decade at war, Kaiden isn’t sure he can—or even wants to lay
claim to that calling anymore. He’s got too much blood on his hands and he’s
tired…tired of war, tired of fighting. Some days…he’s tired of living. When
he’s sent on leave for the holidays, he’s unsure if he can ever really go home
again.

She’s a candle in the night…

Rowan Harper lives in two worlds, the mundane where she
handles tech issues for a major corporation and the pagan where she celebrates
the sabbats and esbats with her coven. Like so many in the region, she keeps
her beliefs private. It makes life more bearable from others who would judge,
and she likes nothing better than the great sabbat retreats the coven takes to
the sprawling Lake House. It’s a time where she sheds the shackles of everyday
life and embraces the divine.

The wheel turns…

When Kaiden turns up at the coven Yule, his Circle of family
and friends are eager to welcome him. He feels unworthy of the open warmth and
shies away to the darkness, but Rowan refuses to leave him in the shadows. Can
the inexorable pull of one woman help him face down his demons as they hold
vigil against the longest night of the year?

Review:

An incredibly touching tale of a Marine reconciling what hes had to do in as part of his job with the tenets he was raised to believe. He has been a Marine for 10 years and has put in his time in the sandbox. You can't do that and not come out unchanged. His friends and family don't judge him as harshly as he judges himself. There comes a light in his darkness in the person of shy computer tech Rowan. She refuses to let him sit alone in the dark and the love in her heart may bring him into the light once more. I don't know much about Wicca but the peace of the season comes through loud and clear. It is apparent to me that the author really cared for the characters of this story and so I did too. A must read for the holiday season no matter what religion you are.
Note: The author states that a portion of the proceeds from this book will be donated to Toys For Tots.

Marine Under the Mistletoe

Always a Marine

Release Date: November 10, 2013

About the Author:

National bestselling author, Heather Long, likes long walks
in the park, science fiction, superheroes, Marines, and men who aren’t douche
bags. Her books are filled with heroes and heroines tangled in romance as hot
as Texas summertime. From paranormal historical westerns to contemporary
military romance, Heather might switch genres, but one thing is true in all of
her stories—her characters drive the books. When she’s not wrangling her
menagerie of animals, she devotes her time to family and friends she considers
family. She believes if you like your heroes so real you could lick the grit
off their chest, and your heroines so likable, you’re sure you’ve been friends
with women just like them, you’ll enjoy her worlds as much as she does.